Typically we see things like brand awareness, brand and competitor perceptions, message recall, message evaluation, share of voice, prescription intention, prescription adoption, brand share, brand switching behavior, brand loyalty, detail follow-ups, quality and quantity of calls, call satisfaction, rep quality perceptions, and company image perceptions. While all of these things have their place, they are not going to solve the marketers real problems i.e. what do I have to do specifically to gain market share against my competitors, and by how much, to achieve a result of ‘x’.
These days there are so many analytical tools at a marketer’s disposal which rely solely on older types of information to inform decisions, and this is paramount to marketing negligence. These are equivalent to comfort food; people always go back to them when the unknown choices can actually lead to analysis paralysis. However, the scarce use of decent analytics in Pharma, which is a widespread problem, suggests a lack of understanding with regard to the applicability and power of these tools.
Our experience has found that the best way to improve results is to incorporate good analytics and take advantage of the enhanced decision-making capabilities they offer. If someone wanted to achieve the same results they are currently getting, you often find that they could actually free up 20% of their budget. If they maintain their budget, they should be able to grow significantly.
One client example illustrates this point. This company implemented the analytics and found that their productivity increased between 17 – 23% year by year in the 3 years of running analytics on their brands. They were able to keep their marketing spend flat over that time (which was able to happen due to the analytics showing what would happen if it was reduced) and they were able to increase the profit from their brands by 23%. It allowed them to make each decision faster and more confidently as they had the data and analysis to support them.
Get the Problem Solved
Analytics give teams the data they need as well as the course of action to follow in order to solve their challenges. However, it must be pointed out that business judgment and creativity is still needed to challenge options and to develop optimal approaches in order to unlock opportunities the data has found. In fact, no matter what the analytics uncovers, if the teams are not of a sufficient caliber to employ these recommendations effectively, then you are still going to encounter challenges in utilizing it.
Analytics Defined
Analytics is all about using the right data tailored to individual brand situations to drive reliable decision-making in order to create the optimal outcome. With all brands in a category treating the same condition for which they are all approved, and many being very similar to others, it is almost impossible to differentiate your product effectively from your competitors without strong analytics these days. Undoubtedly, all the competitor products are also effective and work well. How do you race ahead of the pack? Use sophisticated data and analysis to wring out every last drop of value from your brand/s.
By using analytics, you will not only know what drives your customers to choose a product but how much they will pay and what keeps them loyal. Also, don’t just track what is happening; you will also be able to predict and prevent future problems. Companies using analytics well seize the lead in their class. Pharma, as a sector, is not leading in analytics yet, but many other sectors are taking advantage of analytics. For example, Capital One implemented analytics and since then has gained 20% + growth in earnings per share, every year since the company went public. If analytics is a core part of your marketing strategy, you will arm your team with the best evidence and tools for making the best decisions every time.
Provenge: An Epic Fail
The first-ever cancer vaccine, Provenge, was hailed as a major breakthrough when it was first approved in 2010, with news reporters writing that its manufacturer, Seattle-based Dendreon, “has made history.” {Timmerman L, April 29`, 2010 #10}
Shares of the company skyrocketed 15% when news broke of its approval. But sales? Not so much. By 2012 Dendreon announced it was cutting 600 jobs and closing a production facility. Why? “The company stumbled in its early marketing days and now faces an increasingly serious competitive onslaught”, analysts wrote {Timmerman L, July 30`, 2012 #11}. Dendreon announced additional layoffs in late 2013 and, in late 2014, filed for bankruptcy.
Company officials had a list of excuses for the drug’s poor sales, including high earnings by sales reps, cancellations from patients who started the process, and ‘dips’ in demand from Oncologists and academic centers. Analysts listed other reasons: the company priced the drug too high ($93,000 for a single course of treatment), Oncologists didn’t believe the cost was worth the benefit, and Dendreon had two competitors nipping at its heels – each with a better product.
In my mind, it all boils down to one thing: Dendreon didn’t identify the value Provenge would bring to its customers, didn’t market that value, and didn’t shift its marketing approach as soon as it became clear that its current marketing strategy wasn’t working. We can, with complete confidence, say that they didn’t use data and analytics to guide the launch and early marketing. Thus, Dendreon completely missed that all-important window of opportunity to lead the market in the treatment of late-stage prostate cancer.
Are Analytics Worth It?
There is a lot of hype about analytics, so it is understandable that Pharmaceutical executives may be skeptical, especially given the experiences of CRM. However, when used correctly, companies can transform their results through a thorough understanding of their customers, their products and competitors’ drivers, and know exactly what they need to do – and spend – to create a specific financial result.
It is time to regain control and, with it, credibility. This is where using sophisticated analytics will stop spend on knee-jerk systems and campaigns that are a reaction to competitors, and help concentrate on the real role of the marketing department: to know and understand the customer, and translate this profitably to the product and business strategy.
What Analytics Work Best?
The use of combined predictive and prescriptive models that use current market data – such as the Eularis Brand Performance Accelerator – can not only show the measurable impact each channel has on results but also how to reallocate these precisely for vastly improved and specific financial results. It allows you to test, test and test again before committing valuable time and resources, and ensures that you are able to get the absolute best revenue and profit results from your marketing. Focusing on robust analytics is critical if companies are to identify and properly support the top-performing channels of the future by product, target segment, indication and line of treatment in order to reap the maximum profits possible.
For more information, please contact the author – Dr Andree Bates – at Eularis.
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To learn more about how Eularis can help you find the best solutions to the challenges faced by healthcare teams, please drop us a note or email the author at abates@eularis.com.